Butch/from gang member to bully

[Hiram]

Tommy"Butch"Bond appears to have had two different roles during the course of The Little Rascals series.In the 1934 films,he was just a member of the gang with occasional dialogue.By 1937,after having left the series for awhile,Hal Roach had brought Tommy back.But this time,he was cast as a common bully.In other words Butch was villianized.With his sidekick Woim,he was a threat to Spanky,Alfalfa,Buckwheat and Porky.Some films had Butch and Alfalfa at war with eachother over Darla.Butch sustained the bullying role up until the early 1940s,when he left the series around the same time Alfalfa did.

The interesting thing is,off screen Butch and Alfalfa were actually best friends.

[oatmeal]

butch said when he came back a couple years after the 1934 tommy character, hal roache aske him if he could look mean..hal was impressed by mean look and signed butch to a 7 yr contract..who got 7 yr contracts back then..i think mr butch may have been misinformed

[mtw12055]

Aug 10, 2011 12:38:32 GMT -5 oatmeal said:

butch said when he came back a couple years after the 1934 tommy character, hal roache aske him if he could look mean..hal was impressed by mean look and signed butch to a 7 yr contract..who got 7 yr contracts back then..i think mr butch may have been misinformed

Actually, I think that event took place back in 1933 (or am I mistaken?). Also, Bond apparently wasn't a contract player during his days as "Butch" (at least not at Roach; I'm not sure about MGM, though).

[lauraingallsw777]

I heard from somewhere that Tommy Bond was actually the opposite of the Butch character, and was even bullied, himself. I actually can't feature that, as he played the part so well, and made his bully character come to life!

[classixrbest]

You could almost see the "Butch" personality coming out in Tommy Bond when he sang "Just Friends". That scowl!

In my opinion, the "Butch" role was tailor-made for him.

[oatmeal]

i think the best bully was the woim's brother leonard..when butch was young and going by the name tommy he was a nice young boy "my lamp kept me worm"

[rascalwatcher]

Here's an interesting speculation: Just how did Tommy become Butch? (Meaning the character, not Tommy the actor). Was he bullied himself, possibly by Leonard? Maybe Leonard was mean to his younger brother and his friends, which in turn made them into bullies. Maybe the abuse he suffered at the hands of Cap's wife or Cratchet during his two stints in orphanages did it. Who knows?

I know there are continuity errors between episodes, as they were all meant as stand-alone shorts and not usually sequential. Butch and Woim also apparently were new in town when they were older (discussed in another thread).

[oatmeal]

Oct 12, 2011 6:11:27 GMT -5 rascalwatcher said:

Maybe Leonard was mean to his younger brother and his friends, which in turn made them into bullies. Maybe the abuse he suffered at the hands of Cap's wife or Cratchet during his two stints in orphanages did it. Who knows?

leonard was in only one of the above which was shrimps for a
day..he made spanky take the castoroil medicine in the lineup..he was not in mush and milk

[mtw12055]

Oct 12, 2011 14:55:17 GMT -5 oatmeal said:

Oct 12, 2011 6:11:27 GMT -5 rascalwatcher said:

Maybe Leonard was mean to his younger brother and his friends, which in turn made them into bullies. Maybe the abuse he suffered at the hands of Cap's wife or Cratchet during his two stints in orphanages did it. Who knows?

leonard was in only one of the above which was shrimps for a
day..he made spanky take the castoroil medicine in the lineup..he was not in mush and milk

Actually, he made George Brasno (a.k.a. "Dick as a child") take the castor oil. Mr. Crutch attempted to make Spanky take the oil, but ultimately failed.

[rascalwatcher]

I meant maybe Tommy was abused in the orphanage.

[myhomeo]

If I understand correctly, after his original stint in the Gang, Tommy Bond tended to be cast in films as a brat or a nasty kid, so perhaps that figured into his getting cast, or re-cast, as a bully.

Should also note, Sid was also a 'regular' Gang member before his transformation to Woim. Indeed, if one tries to pretend there's continuity, the change is almost overnight; one minute, he's hanging with Spanky, Buckwheat and the rest at Sunday School, the next he's egging Butch on in the boxing ring.

[dchord568]

Oct 24, 2011 17:11:26 GMT -5 myhomeo said:

If I understand correctly, after his original stint in the Gang, Tommy Bond tended to be cast in films as a brat or a nasty kid, so perhaps that figured into his getting cast, or re-cast, as a bully.

Should also note, Sid was also a 'regular' Gang member before his transformation to Woim. Indeed, if one tries to pretend there's continuity, the change is almost overnight; one minute, he's hanging with Spanky, Buckwheat and the rest at Sunday School, the next he's egging Butch on in the boxing ring.

Well, Leonard Kibrick vacillated in a similar fashion, and was also a "regular" member of the gang in a few films. One that comes immediately to mind is "Washee Ironee." He's on the football team, wearing that unforgettable nose guard!

And although he's an intimidating presence in "Anniversary Trouble," he's still a full member of the gang rather than a menacing outsider.

[princej]

Tommy Bond was also the voice of "Owl Jolson" in the Warner Brothers Cartoon, "I Love to Singa."